We saw the doctor today and J has double ear infection and is on another antibiotic. I suppose if I had taken him in on Sunday or Monday he would have gotten diagnosed sooner, so that is the reason you take your child in right away. If I was going to feel guilty, it would be this incident. He was so miserable today. His nose is pouring green snot and he can't breathe with the pacifier (his comfort, especially with teething) and he's hitting his head and pulling his ears. He is so miserable and it took all my effort to distract him today.
I forgot to mention in my rant about doctors that Julian has had the best doctors in his short little life despite my overall opinion of them. The US needs an overhaul in the medical system, but I have to say I'm glad I'm not there working in the midst of all the chaos.
NZ has the typical socialized medicine set up, but they have fees for clinical visits. The clinic is full of sick people and there is a $38 charge. People wait months to years to have a procedure or a surgery done. Everyone complains about the wait, but some will rave about how care is free for kids. All meds are prescribed (tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.) and they are free for kids. Dental care is free for kids too which I have to check into soon for all of J's new teeth!
Pregnant women are a priority for ultrasounds, but there is a $35 fee with each scan. Home births are VERY common and if you give birth in a hospital, you can leave soon after or stay in a room with up to four other women and their babies. Partners are not allowed to stay the night. Everything is optional which I find puts a lot of pressure on the pregnant woman. I can choose to not have the glucose tolerance test or this or that. They are really hands off where as in the states they highly suggest you do these tests and don't give an option to refuse, though you have a right to refuse anything. It'll be interesting to see what things I choose and which ones I don't since I'm more medically minded, but believe that birth is a natural process, but things can go wrong, but it's out of my hands....see the battle that plays in my head? I'll probably err on the side of getting most things done. The first ultrasound is on Halloween (13 weeks)! Then we'll have one at 19 weeks and hopefully find out the gender!
Overall, the system is working for us. J and I are being well taken care of.
No comments:
Post a Comment